Feb Fest

Feb Fest

February 19–24, 2018

Join us for Feb Fest, our annual celebration during February school vacation, with daily hands-on activities, workshops, and more. Inspired by our exhibition Big Bang Data, this year’s theme is big data. Join us for a fun-filled week.

WORKSHOPS

All workshops $85. Pre-registration required.

February 20, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.Environmental Data Art
Learn how data about the environment is collected and analyzed, and explore creative ways to represent that data. Then create a data sculpture to represent an environmental data set of your own. This workshop will include a field trip to the MIT campus, as well as a visit to the data showcase taking place at the Museum. Register

February 21, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.Using Data to Build Better Bridges
Exchange ideas on the most significant properties of bridges and how they can be measured. Then challenge yourself to build bridge prototypes using basic classroom supplies and using tools such as CAD software and 3D printing to design and test the optimized structures. This workshop will include a field trip of to an MIT lab, as well as a visit to the data showcase taking place at the Museum. Register

February 22, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.Building Robots that Use Data
Learn how data is used in robotics, and how to program Lego Mindstorms robots. Then, after an introduction to sensors and how to use them to carry out an experiment, explore how robots can respond to this data. This workshop will include a field trip to the MIT campus, as well as a visit to the data showcase taking place at the Museum. Register

February 23, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.Let's Do Science: Using Crowd-Sourced Data
Participate in real science research related to work currently happening at MIT. Explore the science behind discoveries such as exoplanets, gravity waves, and protein structure, and try your hand at analyzing real data from these projects. This workshop will include a field trip to the MIT campus, as well as a visit to the data showcase taking place at the Museum. Register

SHOWCASES

Drop-in activity. Pre-registration not required. Included with Museum admission.

February 19, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.; 1 - 3 pmChain Reaction Construction with Data
Working in teams, design and build parts of a chain reaction contraption, while exploring a data connection. Then see how your construction measures up to others.

IDEA HUB

February 20-2312:30 - 2:00 pmDrop-in activity. Pre-registration not required. Included with Museum admission. Seating is limited and timed, 30-minute sessions available with on-site sign-up.

Scratch
Design your own simple video game or animation using the block-based programming language Scratch.

GALLERY TOURS

February 20-232:00 - 2:30 pmTours limited to 25 participants, ages 14 and older. Tickets available 30 minutes before the tour begins on a first-come, first-served basis. Included with Museum admission.

February 20Big Bang Data
Take a tour of our Big Bang Data exhibition with Ann Neumann, MIT Museum Director of Galleries and Exhibitions, and special guest Jose Luis de Vincente, visiting curator of the exhibtion.

FINALE

February 24, 1:00 - 4:00 p.mCitizen Science Fair
Learn about “citizen science,” research projects that enlist the public’s participation in data collection, analysis, and reporting. This form of crowd-sourced science has the potential to lead to discoveries that would be nearly impossible to achieve alone. Meet researchers and discover how you can participate!

February 24

Also of Interest

Meet researchers from a number of local organizations, and discover how you can participate in “citizen science” research projects that enlist the public’s participation in data collection, analysis, and reporting.